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Edward Spooner
, city manager, in young Spoonerville in 1884. ]] Edward Roland Spooner was the man who founded Spoonerville in 1883. He was also the first mayor of Spoonerville from 1883-1891 and made a huge impact in Delaware County and influenced people to settle in the area at the time. Early Life Edward Spooner was born on July 13, 1850 to Ruth and Harold Spooner in New York City. Spooner grew up in Queens in an apartment complex and went to school in Brooklyn until he was a teenager. When Spooner was just 11 years old, his father Harold went into war when the Civil War had started and it caused him to move to a different location in Upstate New York due to safety reasons. In 1863, Harold Spooner had died in the Battle of Gettysburg while fighting for the Union which made a big impact on Edward. His mother went into a deep depression and Edward had to support his mother and his young sister Elizabeth (Born 1856) by working only at the age of 13. At age 15 when Spooner started High School, he grew an interest in exploration and politics and took debate classes and learned more about exploration. By Age 18, Spooner attended New York State and by 1874, had majored in Politics. After College After Spooner graduated college in 1874, he decided to work in Downtown Albany and work his way in Polictics. Things had started out well up intil the city of Albany went into debt in 1877 and Spooner lost his job due to bankruptcy in the city. Spooner moved to a small town named Delhi in 1878 when he decided to settle there for a while until he could return back to his original job. The Founding of Spoonerville By 1880, Spooner had abandoned his idea of working in Albany again and took place as Delhi City Council Place 3. He was in the Position for 2 years until he decided he had his time. Spooner realized that the city of Albany would be in debt for a while and he wanted to make a difference in the world. He was going to found a town that had all the great characteristics that made a town successful. In January of 1883, Spooner ventured about 7 miles southwest of Delhi and purchased 500 acres for 10 cents an acre. He then hired architects and engineers to make a general layout for a small town and he established the small town of Spoonerville. By August of 1883, Spoonerville had attracted a small crowd of about 150 people with about 20 households, a small town centre with only 5 businesses and a basic Town hall. Spooners vision of creating a new town had begun off with a great start and Spooner became the first mayor of this town. 1890s and His Personal Life By 1890, Spoonerville had grown to about 1500 people and had over 250 homes and 40+ businesses in town and was placed on a map of New York as an official town. After Spooner left office as mayor, he lived in Spoonerville for the next 10 years. In 1887, Spooner married Janet Spooner née Kesler and they lived in a prairie style house two miles east of downtown for over 10 years. In 1890, Spooners son Jeffrey Spooner was born and grew up in Spoonerville.